City survive Fulham in instant Premier League classic
The Premier League added its own chaos last night as Guardiola’s City survived a furious Fulham fightback to win 5-4 at Craven Cottage.
Where do you even begin? That first half from City might have been their most complete of the season. Reijnders delivered his best showing since opening day causing havoc with Doku Foden and Haaland.
Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute sweeping home his 100th Premier League goal. Reijnders made it two in the 31st minute finishing a slick Haaland through ball. Foden then blasted in a long-range screamer to make it 3-0 a goal straight from his 2023 to 2024 highlight reel.
A Rocky moment
Emile Smith Rowe handed Fulham a lifeline in first half stoppage time but City shut that down early in the second half with Foden grabbing his second in as many matches. Berge then turned the ball into his own net in the 54th minute making it 5-1 and seemingly ending the contest.
In any normal universe that would have been curtains but Fulham refused to fold. They pounced on City’s rattled backline and pushed Guardiola’s blood pressure into the danger zone.
Iwobi made it 5-2 in the 57th minute barely celebrating as though he knew the mountain was too steep. Chukwueze had different plans smashing in two goals in six frantic minutes to pull it back to 5-4.
How the game stayed goalless after that remains as baffling as understanding Shakira’s global spell. It was a genuine Rocky moment under the Craven Cottage lights with Silva’s side heroic in defeat.
Barca edge four points clear after emphatic 3-1 win over Atletico
Barca moved four points ahead of Real Madrid last night with a deserved 3-1 win over a stubborn but blunt Atletico side.
Barcelona played some of their best football of the season early on despite falling behind in the 19th minute when Baena broke the high line to score against the run of play. Flick’s team loves flirting with danger and it cost them again.
Barca hit back in style with Pedri slicing a perfect pass to Raphinha who rounded the keeper at full speed to equalize. They should have taken the lead before the break when Olmo won a soft penalty, but Lewandowski launched his effort into the stands like a Jonny Wilkinson tribute.
The second half belonged to Barca. Raphinha should have scored after a dazzling run from Lamine Yamal set him up but he slashed the effort wide. The pressure finally told in the 65th minute when Olmo finished neatly only to leave the match injured moments later. Raphinha and Pedri also limped off which will worry fans given Barca’s long list of fitness woes.
Revenge is a dish best served exactly the same
Bayern Leverkusen dished out a familiar punishment to Dortmund in the third round of the German Cup flipping the script from the weekend’s league meeting with a pragmatic 1-0 win at Westfalenstadion.
The two matches felt like mirror images. Leverkusen dominated at home but failed to finish while Dortmund looked confident on their own turf last night only for Adeyemi to waste several golden chances.
Leverkusen struck in the 34th minute with Ibrahim Maza riding Schlotterbeck’s weak challenge before firing into the top corner. Hjulmand’s team dug deep after the break with Andrich Quansah and Tapsoba producing gritty defensive efforts to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
It’s a big result considering Bayern’s grip on German football. Neither side is likely to topple them in the Bundesliga and neither looks ready to conquer Europe. The German Cup is their most realistic shot at silverware and across these two tight encounters Hjulmand will walk away happier.